With the advent of the video cassette recorder and player, a large industry has developed for the rental of video cassettes with pre-recordings of movies, operas, and the like. Generally speaking, there are two types of cassettes: one termed a VCR which is blank and used for recording. Another called VCP is for playback only and are sold with a prerecording such as a movie. They are intentionally made so that they cannot be recorded on, so that the movie cannot be erased inadvertently.
Initially, video cassette movies were rented through stores specializing in video cassette equipment. "Membership" in the store's "club" was obtained by paying an annual fee, which entitled the member to rent movies for a fee.
This type of entertainment became so popular that cassettes with pre-recorded movies and the like, are now available in supermarkets, drugstores, and for the most part, club membership fees no longer exist.
With the growth of the industry, came a need for inexpensive, efficient means for storing and dispensing the VCP cassettes so that a particular cassette selected by a customer from a catalog, or the like, can be removed by a clerk, presented to the customer, and then a day or so later, returned to its storage place. Since the recorded cassettes are expensive to purchase, it is also advantageous that whatever storage and dispensing system is employed, it be capable of being closed and locked when there is no clerk present.
It was with these objectives in mind that the present invention was conceived.